Bon Iver and AA Bondy at The Troubador

This last week has been kind of a blur, what with my birthday on Thursday and then parties and fun times to be had the rest of the weekend. Well the fun didn’t stop, as last night I headed out to The Troubador with my friend Nick to see Bon Iver and AA Bondy, two of my absolute favorite artist/bands. The show started out with AA, who plays all alone with his trusty guitar and a collection of harmonicas. He proceeded to sing some beautiful country ballads and talk about mushrooms to a largely filled room. I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t play American Heart, but c’est la vie. But he did happen to play song called O The Vampyre that I liked quite a lot, which is the second video up there, so check it out.

By the time he finished the room was packed, and eventually Bon Iver made their way out. If you haven’t heard they’re record, For Emma, Forever Ago, then this post might not mean much to you. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when they came on stage. Their record is pretty bare and minimal for the most part, so to my surprise, they TOTALLY jam when they play live. Like improving, noise, feedback, you name it they probably did it. Well, they didn’t smash any guitars…

Overall though I was so thoroughly impressed, they are absolutely fantastic to see live. They played a new song as well called Blood Bank, which if this is a preview of things to come, then the new album is going to be much richer and full of life. They had reached the end of their set, and hadn’t played For Emma, and I was starting to freak out because it’s my favorite song on the record. Thankfully they came back out for one more song, so I yelled at the top of my lungs, “FOR EMMA!!!”, to lead singer Justin Vernon replied, “You got it.” And so they played my favorite song, and all was well in the world.

I posted a Take Away Video they did up top, to give you a sense of the sheer genius these guys possess, I hope you all enjoy it and get the chance to these guys live some time soon.

Bobby